The Villa Park boss thinks his side has only been outplayed in one game – some Villans fans disagree.
A number of Aston Villa fans have taken to Twitter to give their thoughts on Dean Smith’s comments regarding his side’s performances this season, namely that only Tottenham Hotspur have outplayed the Villa Park side in their eight Premier League and League Cup games so far.
The Villans are still finding their feet in the top flight following promotion last season, with just one win and one draw from their opening six league games this term, leaving them in the bottom three ahead of the weekend clash with Burnley at Villa Park.
Despite their lowly position in the fledgling table, Smith thinks it is a “harsh” reflection on his side’s early-season form, and is pleased with how his players had taken to life in the top flight, praising their displays in all competitive games so far.
“We look at the eight games we have played this season and only Tottenham have been better than us,” he told the Villa media team at his pre-match presser. “In all the games that we have played so far we have been very competitive, a couple of mistakes let us down against Bournemouth.
“At Villa Park we have been good, apart from the mistakes against Bournemouth. We played well against Everton and we played well against West Ham – a good West Ham team who went and beat Manchester United just after that. On the road we haven’t got the points that we deserved. Sometimes that has been down to us but sometimes it has been something that is out of our control.”
Some Villa fans criticised their manager’s comments, highlighting in particular the Crystal Palace game at the end of August, in which they fell to a 1-0 loss at Selhurst Park.
Here is some of the social media reaction to Smith’s comments, as shared on the Villa channel:
While their Premier League form still needs some work, Villa are going into the Burnley game on the back of a 3-1 victory away at fellow top-flight side Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek, which booked their spot in the fourth round of the League Cup.
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